1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to the production of coke in horizontal coke oven batteries and, specifically, to a coke quench car used to receive the incandescent coke pushed from a coke oven in a battery and to transport that coke to a water quenching station.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years, incandescent coke that was pushed from a coke oven battery was received in a sloped gondola-type open car. That car, along with the locomotive used to move it, traveled on tracks adjacent to and parallel with the coke side of the coke oven battery. One end of the car was positioned adjacent to an open coke oven. At a given signal, the coke was pushed by a pusher machine, located on the opposite side of the coke oven battery, into the quench car. When the coke began to fall from the coke guide, into the open car, the locomotive commenced to slowly move the open car past the open oven, thus, more or less, evenly dispersing the coke in that car. At the end of the push, the locomotive moved the open car to a quench station where the incandescent coke was drenched with water. From the quench station the open car was moved to a coke wharf where doors, on the side of the open car, were opened, allowing the coke to spill down the inclined bottom of the open car onto the wharf.
The major problem with this system was pollution. Large quantities of fumes, along with much particulate matter, escaped from the incandescent coke as it was pushed from the oven into the open car. Additional pollutants escaped as the open car was moved to the quench station. It was early recognized that means were needed to curtail this pollution.
Attempts were made to provide the open quench car with covers that would be closed when the car had been filled with coke. These attempts were partially successful in controlling the escape of pollutants while the quench car was being moved to the quenching station.
A fluid pumping and cleaning system was then added to the locomotive and connected to the gondola of the quench car. When the cover was closed, the pump would draw off the effervescing gases and particulate matter, clean it, and expel the cleaned medium to the atmosphere. This combination further curtailed the pollution while the quench car was being moved to the quenching station.
However, neither of these systems addressed the escape of pollutants, much greater in volume, incurred when the coke was being pushed into the quench car. One of the first systems to control this problem took the form of a large metal shed constructed over the entire coke side of the coke oven battery and over the tracks along which ran the locomotive and quench car. Large fans drew off the pollutants, cleaned them and expelled the cleaned medium into the atmosphere. The shed system was a great improvement but not entirely effective as it was open-ended, allowing the escape of a significant portion of the pollutants. Further, the shed system required large capital expenditure and expensive frequent maintenance.
Engineering thought, at this point, turned to the exploration of means to contain the push pollutants at the immediate area of the quench car and open coke oven. Hood means were developed, operable with quench car covers, which extended and retracted as the coke was moved through the coke oven, the idea being that the complete pushing operation would be ambiently enclosed, diverting all of the pollutants into a cleaning system. Such a system is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 683,057 filed May 4, 1976, by Rogers and assigned to the assignee of this application.
However, it was recognized, in accordance with this invention, that the coke pushing pollutant problem could be better handled technologically if a quench car was not moved while the incandescent coke was being pushed into it. Technologically, one approach would be to provide a larger gondola for the quench car, able to contain the full charge of a single oven from a stationary, or one-spot, position. But in existing coke plants, this is difficult and occasionally not feasible due to space problems. Such an approach also presents a problem in that the degree of retained moisture in the coke would be increased if the coke was not evenly dispersed in the quench car during quenching. Using only a larger gondola also could result in a large mound of coke piled in the center of the gondola. An uneven large mound of coke would debilitate even cooling by way of quenching, due to the inability of the quench water to readily find its way to the center of the mound. Thus, for a quench car to remain stationary during the coke push, means need to be developed to evenly disperse the coke throughout the gondola. Further, to convert existing coke plants, space limitations need to be taken into consideration. The system of the present invention utilizes the existing general length, width and overall height constants of existing quench cars and their gondolas in a stationary or one-spot position, while containing the pollutants and evenly dispersing the incandescent coke therein.